Ave's Book
by icedragon404
Summary: When a young boy comes to live with Tris, Briar, Daja, and Sandry, suspicions rise. But, when this boy disappears, it's up to the four young mages to save him. When all is said and done, the person who commits the crime is very surprising.This is my first
1. The New Kid

Chapter One: The New Kid 

Tris was minding her own business reading a book when Niko, her teacher, walked in. Beside him stood a boy about two years younger than her. He had hair a deep fire red, darker than hers. He wore navy blue breeches and a waist long crimson tunic with a belt over it.

"Tris," Niko said, "This is Ave. He will now be living in Discipline."

"Really?" Tris asked. "Where did you find him?"

"He was a slave to a very wealthy merchant. Although, the merchant gave him to me when he kept burning everything. You see, young Ave here has fire magic."

Ave had hid behind Niko when he said this.

"Great. Just one problem though. Where's he going to sleep?"

"I figured he would share a room with Briar."

"Okay, I think Briar would like that. Having another boy in the house."

"Yeah, I thought he would to," and with that, he walked away and Ave was trailing after him.

"Time to meet your new roommate, Ave. Briar!" Niko called, "Briar! I have someone that you would like to meet!"

Briar was just walking through the house when he heard Niko call. He turned to see Niko with a small boy.

"Briar, this is Ave. He is going to share a room with you. He is the new resident at Discipline Cottage," Niko said.

"Okay, cool." Briar replied.

"Okay, I'm off. Moonstream wanted me in the Hub as soon as possible." And with that, he fled.

"Where is your room?" a small voice asked.

Briar jumped. He realized it was Ave. "This way."

Briar showed him his room. Once Ave was all settled,(which was only unpacking very few cloths), Briar showed him the rest of the house.

"And this is Sandry's room. Her full name is: Lady Sandrilene Fa Toren. Sandry, this is Ave. Niko brought him," Briar asked.

"Really? Where did he find him?"

Suddenly, Ave burst into a fit of giggles. Sandry looked at Briar, who stared back at Sandry, then they both looked at Ave.

When his fit finally stopped, Briar asked, "What's so funny?"

"It's just that Tris said the same thing," he replied.

"Oh, yeah. We are all magically connected. Sandry, Daja, Tris and I."

This got Ave's attention. "Really? How?"

Briar gave Sandry and uncertain look. Then, as if by some silent agreement, Sandry walked over to a box on the shelf and pulled out a ring of thread. She gave it to Ave. He started to examine it when he started glowing. He rose off the floor a few inches off the floor. Then, he collapsed, unconscious.

When he woke up, he realized he it was day outside. What time, he couldn't tell. But it had to be in the afternoon because the sun wasn't outside his window.

Then, a dark-skinned girl came in with a tray. She set it down on the bedside table and was about to leave when she saw he was awake. She sat down on the bed and held his cold hand.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired," Ave said weakly. "What's your name?"

"It's Daja. Daja Kisubo."

Ave tried to get up, but her strong arms pushed him back down. "You need to conserve your energy."

"But-."

"No."

Ave tried to argue but was too tired and soon was off to dream land again.

When Ave woke for the second time, he was full of energy. It was still day outside and he could probably get outside for some fresh air. _If they let me, _he thought.

_Wait, who said that?_

_What?_

_Ave? Is that you?_

_Yes. Is this Briar?_

_You can communicate with us! That is so cool. Wait, you must be the bottom!_

_What is all this commotion about, Briar?_ It sounded like Sandry.

_Sandry! Ave is part of our connection. He is the bottom!_

_Cool! Let me tell everyone else!_

Briar had almost been in the room when Sandry had left. "How did you do it?" he asked.

"Do what?" Ave replied.

"Join our connection?"

Then, the room practically became Times Square. Everyone, including Niko, bustled in the room.

It was Niko who spoke up first. "How did you do it?"

"I have no idea," Ave replied.

"Well, since this is an unusual phenomenon, I think it is time for your first lesson. It will be with Sandry."

"What!" Sandry cried.

"Do all of you want to teach him instead?"

Daja, Briar, and Tris all nodded their heads simultaneously. Even Ave found himself nodding. He jumped out of bed and stood by the door, ready for the lesson.

The lesson consisted of Ave learning how to meditate. He would breathe in on the count of seven, hold it for seven, and exhale on seven.

After the lesson, they all went to bathe. Ave was taking off his tunic when Briar let out a cry of surprise.

"Briar? What's wrong?" Niko asked.

"You had better see this." Briar said. His voice was quavering.

Niko walked over to where Briar was and faced Ave's back. He let out a gasp. There, on the boy's back, were fresh cuts and bruises in numbers.

"Ave," he said. "How come you have gashes and bruises on your back?"

"Those idiot servants whipped and branded me every time I burnt something," Ave answered.

"Will it hurt to wash?"

"It never has before."

"Okay."

They quickly washed and went back to the cottage.

It was a little while before they heard the voices of the girls outside. They came in the form of a mob and then split to go to there rooms. Before Rosethorn went to hers, Niko asked, "Rosethorn, Ave has a very large amount of wounds on his back. Will you attend to him please?"

"Sure. After I get dressed," she snapped.

As soon as she finished, Rosethorn beckoned Ave into her workroom. When Ave shed his shirt, Rosethorn also gasped. "Child, what did they do to you?" she asked.

Ave gulped loudly, "Whipped and branded me every time I burnt something."

"Lark," Rosethorn said almost in a whisper. "You had better take a look at this."

"Coming," the reply was as clear as a bell.

When Lark came in, she gaped at his back. "Oh my lord, where have you been?"

"Well, everyone might as well gather round because I only want to tell this once." Ave said wearily.

"Tris, Sandry, Briar, Daja!" Lark called. The other four young mages gathered in to.

"I was born to a very poor family in eastern Emelan. When I was eight, a very wealthy merchant came to our home; we thought that he would give us money for our needs. Instead, he wanted me as a slave, and would pay a substantial amount for me. My parents needed the money and debated over it for three days with him. At the time, they did not know that I had magic. In the end, I was sold for three gold majas. My family had a hard time in me leaving them, but did anyway. As soon as we got to the merchants manor, I was branded on the back of my neck as a sign of ownership," Ave took a deep breath. "A half a year passed and that's when I started burning everything, for no apparent reason. Every time I did, I was whipped for it. Sometimes I was branded for fragile or important items," his voice quavered, then regained its strength. "Then, in the middle of fall, Niko came to my 'masters' door. He wanted me. The merchant was glad to get rid of me. He did not want another thing destroyed. He was so terrified that I might burn the whole manor if I kept going. So, that's how I came to be here."

When he had finished, Sandry, Tris, Daja, and Lark were silently weeping. Briar was nodding. Rosethorn's eyes held sympathy, which was rare.

"Alright," Rosethorn announced. "Let me get them properly dressed. Which means I need everyone out except Ave."

Ave's eyes filled up with tears. "You will do that? You really will do that?" he asked.

"Of course! I'm not that careless, why?" Rosethorn replied.

"It's just that no ones ever done anything like that for me before."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I'm glad I'm the first one."

Ave smiled. Rosethorn rubbed special ointment on his back, then wrapped his whole torso and chest in bandages. Briar met him and brought him upstairs. He pulled down the stairs to the roof and led Ave up there. He and Briar took a seat with their backs against the chimney.

"What's that big clock tower called?" Ave asked.

"That's the Hub. You know, I once met a fire mage. Not far from here either," Briar mentioned.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"What was his name?"

"Yarrun Firetamer."

"Cool. What was he like?"

"He was cocky. Always went by the book. Good luck trying to find him though. He died."

"How?"

"Tried to put out to many fires at once. It took to much energy, so he died."

"Where did you come from?"

"Me?" he seemed startled by the question. "I was a street rat. Way over in Hajra. Almost got sent to a long hard life working at the docks. If it wasn't for Niko, I wouldn't be here now." Briar looked out over Winding Circle. He was staring at the kitchens (his favorite place in all of Winding Circle) when he heard crying. It was Ave. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"It's just that no one has ever done this much for me. Not even my own family."

"Well," he said as he rubbed Ave's back gently. "I guess we're your family now,"

Ave leaned his head against his shoulder.

"Now, lets go back inside. I don't know about you but I'm a little cold." He looked down at him. He was tired, but nodded his agreement.

The sun was just starting to set as they headed downstairs. Dinner was on the table and all of the others were seated. Briar took his usual place and Ave sat next to Sandry. Ave ate the best meal he had ever had in his life that night. Drowsy, Ave went to bed early.

The next day, Ave got up well before dawn. As he was lying there, Briar asked, "Did you want to see the rest of Winding Circle?"

"Yeah, I think that would be nice," he answered.

They both got dressed and started for the door.

"Where did you think you were going?" a voice said.

It made them both jump. They turned around expecting Rosethorn to be behind them, but instead they found Lark. "I was just going to show Ave the rest of Winding Circle," Briar said quickly.

"Then you'll need this," Lark said and handed Briar a wooden token with two thread circles on it. "Now, off you go."

The two walked out the door. The sun was beginning to rise when they got out of Discipline. The cool morning air felt good on Ave's face. "What did Lark give you?" he asked.

Briar held out his hand and showed him the wooden token. It had a large "D" carved in it. "It's a pass token. The D stands for Discipline, and the thread circles allow two people to use it," Briar explained.

Briar showed Ave all of Winding Circle. The bustling kitchens, the noisy dormitories, the baths, and each of the four temples. The hub clock was just striking the morning when they arrived back at Discipline.

They walked in the door to find Niko and a burly man waiting for them. He wore a red habit, a sign that he worked for the Fire Temple. "Ave, meet your new teacher, Dedicate Snowfire. He has the same talent as you and will help you learn control over it," Niko said. "Your teaching will begin tomorrow after midday, alright? Okay, I'm off." He left.

Dedicate Snowfire followed.

"So, that's your new teacher," a voice said.

Ave jumped.

He turned around to find Sandry behind him.

"Yeah, I guess so."

Sandry left.

Ave spent the rest of the day doing tidbits and just hanging around. Once he went to look for Tris, but could not find her. He went up to the roof for midday, then come down for lunch, and went back up again. When evening came, he went to bed early, excited about what tomorrow would hold.

Ave woke up just a little after dawn. He went out to the table to find a slate with something chalked on it. Sandry was walking by and Ave said, "Sandry? What does it say?"

"Oh, you can't read can you," she replied. She walked over to him and said, "It says that you have to dust today."

"Oh. Okay. Where's the rag?"

Sandry walked over to the closet and threw him the rag. It hit him in the face.

"Hey, what was that for?" Sandry just giggled and continued sweeping.

Ave dusted eagerly, waiting for midday. By the time he was done, it was lunch, the meal just before midday. Ave ate fastidiously. During midday break, Ave went up to the roof. As he was looking out over Winding Circle, he saw many people, busy with everyday things like running to the kitchens, going to the Temples for various reasons, and other miscellaneous things. Although, he did see a shadowy figure that walked in an odd way. He went out of Winding Circle and it was a while before came back in. Then, he disappeared into a building Ave did not recognize. The Hub clock sounded that midday break was over. Ave rushed downstairs and waited for Snowfire to come. It was a little bit but then a knock came on the door. Ave opened it to see Dedicate Snowfire there.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

"I think so. Let me tell Lark," after he had done that, he set out with Snowfire. They then set out for the Fire Temple.

"We are going to the Fire Temple for they have fire-proof walls. You never know what might happen." Snowfire explained.

"Okay," Ave nodded in acknowledgement.

They arrived and went to a room in the center of the temple.

"I assume that you know how to meditate?" Ave nodded. "Good. Every lesson we will start with a short period of meditation." So they started. That day, Ave learned how to make a simple flame in his hand.

When he left the temple, he was tired from the concentration. When he finally reached Discipline, he flopped down in a chair.

Briar walked in. "Tired? Yeah, that does happen when you concentrate like that for the first time."

"How can you stand it? It is so tiring." Ave asked.

"Well, as you do it more, you build up your endurance." Briar looked at Ave, expecting a reply but found that he was already asleep


	2. Package Extras

This took me forever to finish. But, i fanally got it done. Chapter 3 is already started, so don't worry.

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**_Chapter 2: "Package Extras"_**

Ave was still groggy the next morning. He was so exhausted; he almost fell asleep at the breakfast table.

"Hello, everyone," came Niko's cheery voice as he walked in the door. "Whoa, there!" he said as he put a supportive hand on Ave's shoulder, who was about to fall off his seat he was so tired.

There was a chorus of welcomes from the table. Niko took a seat next to Sandry. He eagerly helped himself to the pancakes on the table.

"So, how is everyone?" he asked.

"Tired," was Ave's simple reply. He was trying in vain to get the crusties out of his eyes.

"It's the first day that does it."

"You're telling me."

After they finished breakfast, Ave had to ask Briar for help to read the chore slate.

"You, can't read?" he asked

"No," Ave stated simply.

"Then I know just the person to teach you. Tris!" he called.

"What!" she snapped.

"Could you come here?"

"Why?"

"Someone here can't do your favorite thing!" he taunted.

She poked her head out of his room. "Who can't read?"

"Who do you think?"

"Oh. Sorry. When do you want to start? I'm free tomorrow at midday break. How about then?"

"Oh, me? You will teach me how to read?" Ave wasn't really paying attention to the conversation.

"Well of course! If you can't read it's like losing a major sense. If you can't read, you are missing out on half of life. Reading can help you in many ways, you know. It can help your studies; it can show you fictional worlds and much more! So, are you okay with tomorrow midday break?" Tris exclaimed.

Ave slowly nodded his head; taken aback by the list he was just given. The Hub rang midday and Ave quickly went up to the roof, his favorite place in all of Winding Circle.

Briar had come up to join him and was just starting to sit down when Ave asked, "Who's that?"

"Where?"

"Down by the kitchens."

Then Briar spotted it. A shadowy figure was moving in a strange way. He was moving toward the north gate very quickly. "I don't know," he said.

They dropped the subject and kept on talking about nothing in particular. A while later, they both saw the figure come back in the wall just before the break was over. He seemed to be carrying something. Then, he disappeared in the same house he had come out of.

"Well, what ever he or she is up to, it's none of our business. Oh! I almost forgot! You haven't met Little Bear!"

"Who's Little Bear?"

"You'll see."

They walked downstairs and into Tris's room. In a large bed, a very large dog sat, just about to fall asleep.

"Little Bear, Little Bear!" Briar said quietly. "Wake up!"

The dog looked up at Briar. Then, he growled when he saw Ave.

Ave cautiously backed up a few steps.

"It's okay, boy. He's living with us now. Come on, Ave. It's not like he will kill you. Trust me on this one."

Ave took cautious steps toward the dog.

"That's it. It's okay." Briar was coaxing.

Ave had finally reached Little Bear and was reaching out slowly to pet the dog. As he started, his hand grew steadier and he became more confident. Little Bear on the other hand was still alert as a fish in the sea that had just gotten away from a shark.

"Little Bear, relax. It's okay," a soothing voice came from behind them. Briar and Ave turned to see Daja behind them and moving closer. "Niko wants Tris, Sandry, me, and you two downstairs immediately. He said it is urgent. Do you know where Tris is?"

"I last saw her in my room," Briar said.

"That helps."

Daja headed off in search of Tris and the other two left for downstairs. They found Niko in the living room and walked over to him.

"Good," he said. "Now where is Tris?"

"Right here, why?" Tris said from behind them.

"Oh! All right. Now to Moonstream."

"Moonstream?" Ave asked

"She wants the three of you for she thinks a crime may be in motion."

They set off for the warehouses. When they got there, they met Honored Moonstream, who looked like she was in a panic.

"Oh! Ave! Hello!" her speech was hurried, no doubt in panic. "Hello Briar, and Tris, is that Sandry and Daja over there?"

They turned around to find Daja and Sandry walking over to them.

"Moonstream? What's wrong?" Sandry asked.

"There have been thefts by an unknown culprit in all of the warehouses," Moonstream said.

"What has been stolen?" Briar asked.

"Some very magical objects, chains and shackles, and…" a fire dedicate came up to her and whispered something in her ear. She looked at him in shock and gasped. She turned back to the kids and said, "The Heart of Tsubaka."

The kids looked at her quizzically, everyone except Daja. "The Heart of Tsubaka!" she gasped. "I thought that it was at another temple! It's here!" Moonstream nodded. Realizing that she was the only one who understood what she was talking about, she started to explain, "It is a stone that allows a mage to manipulate and even bring fire to life. It is a very complicated object to use, but with the right resources, it is possible."

"So, you mean that someone could wreak havoc on the Temple with indestructible fire beings if we don't stop them some how?" Briar asked.

"Well, there are two ways they can be destroyed. One, the stone is broken to pieces, two, another fire mage can draw the fire out of the beings and extinguish it." Moonstream said.

Everyone's eyes turned to Ave.

That afternoon after he had gotten the disturbing news that he was the only one who could stop the possible destruction of Winding Circle Temple, Ave was with Snowfire to do his lessons. He progressed tremendously. Snowfire even said that he was a quick learner, and it was hard to get a compliment out of this stern man. They also started assembling Ave's mage kit. It consisted of powders for mage craft, (a gift from Snowfire himself) some fire and energy retaining stones, and some potions for strengthening his spells. It was carried in a little leather sac with drawstrings to close it with. Ave liked the look and thought it suited him well.

That night, they were all in the living area doing nothing in particular when Tris beckoned Ave over to her with a finger. At that point, he was shuffling through his mage kit, fascinated by everything. He reluctantly put it down and went over to her. She had a book on her lap was flipping pages idly.

"I think we can start now. Pull over a chair and we can get a head start." Tris said softly.

He did as he was bidden and then, he started to read.

That night, Ave had the worst nightmare in his life. He was chained up to a cave wall and seemed to be underground. He flailed around, trying to get free. Just then, Briar showed up and was looking franticly for the keys. Briar suddenly changed into a shadowy figure that Ave couldn't make out. He screamed for help but none came. Then he woke up, sweat dotting his face. He dragged his blanket from his bead and cuddled up next to Briar, and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Briar felt him crawl in and opened one eye. He put his hand protectively on the young boy and whispered, "No one's going to hurt you." If Ave heard, he showed no signs of it.

The next day, Ave was in the Fire Temple when he saw a little sparkle on the wall. It increased in strength and by the end of his lesson; it was a faint glow in his vision. He figured he would ask Briar when he got the chance.

That night, they were lying in bed when Ave asked, "Do you know why the Fire Temple walls glow. I mean that they sort of _sparkled_. They didn't when I had my first lesson, but now they are."

"Oh," Briar replied. "That's just magic. We are part of the few that can see it. When you connected with us, you must have inherited that skill. Niko taught Tris, and through our connection we were also taught at the same time. So, with us, you can now see magic. As you get used to it, you will be able to see weaker magic that you could not see before. The brighter the glow, the stronger the magic is. You'll get used to it, don't worry."

"Really? Snowfire told me that the temple walls are fire proof. So that must mean that it was done with magic."

"Very good."

Then, they both went to sleep.


End file.
